After some success last round, I have decided to sign up again to consolidate what I have learned and lose another few kilos.

The dexa scan has really helped with my goals and expectations for my weight/health. According to the dexa I have excellent bone density, good muscle mass, but could do to lose a bit more fat.

This round I really need to tighten up and build some muscle. Last round I did zero weight training. And zero running. So this round, along with the weight loss goal, I want to focus on fitness oriented goals too.

For the 12wbters reading, yes I am little late to the party this round. Tomorrow is week 2(!) weigh in. Unfortunately I have been sick since returning from Thailand (typical, right?!). But I finally feel like I am pulling through and readying smash it

So what are my goals this round? Not in any particular order-

- lose around 5kg
- stick to the nutrition plan
- start lifting
- weekly hot yoga
- run 5km (I reckon I may stretch that to 10km)

And … Go!!!!

I have tried it cold…I love the crunch!

And hot…perfect on its own and hits the spot! 90 seconds later -

And hot with added banana and cinnamon…!

Definitely a yummy winter breakfast, and I am happy with the calorie content and nutritional stats, fitting in to my new 12WBT regime.

Must try it with berries next, I think!

Note:  This product was sent  to me for consideration.  All opinions are my own.

A couple of weeks ago I did a 13.6km SSS, kinda by accident.  I wasn’t really feeling it, but I thought I would head out with Mr. J and aim for 5km.  Well, when I finally decided to turn back, we had passed the 6.5km mark!  I actually got a little sun burnt, because I did not expect to be out for so long.  Yes, by the end and almost 2 and a half hours later, I was totally over it, but hey it was awesome!  And of course, I wasn’t complaining with the calorie burn:

The following weekend, unfortunately I was feeling the same – just a bit off, and a bit over it.  But what does MB say?  JFDI.  So off we went to Hackett walking tracks, and decided to see where the road took us.

Well,… it took us up Mt Ainslie – a first for me

A pretty easy walk, other than the elevation!

Isn’t it pretty?   Haha…
According to Runkeeper, it was a personal best for elevation -

Teehee!

Mt Ainslie – definitely recommended.  Get out there and feel the burn and check out the lovely views

Weather is getting warmer, so my challenge is: to get outside and get some Rays for at least a hr everyday.
Natural source of Vitamin D too.

Angela, I have sent your details to SlimKicker, who will be in contact with you  

Thanks to those who entered!!

Sleep ins – tick
Exercise – tick
Quality time with my husband – tick
Some indulgence – tick

Friday, I slept in, made a lovely brunch for myself and Mr. J – can’t go wrong with bacon and eggs.

Look at that perfectly cooked egg!    Anyway(!)  Chillaxed, made some hot cross buns, went for a walk in the sunshine with husband and later I went to Zumba.  I *love that my classes were still held over the long weekend.  Great chance to get out there and do more to make up for the extra treats.

My hot cross buns were babies – the 12WBT recipe called for 15, I made 20.  So they look a little knobbly, but were even more snack friendly!  I didn’t get a good ‘after’ pic, cause we were too busy eating them

Saturday was another sleep in, and I met a gf for chats before Samba Fitness.  Another yummy brunch, before heading out to the shops – Funny how it gets so busy over a long weekend when people can’t go the day before/after (Good Fri/Easter Sun). We scored a
couple of bargains though, and I enjoyed having a leisurely tea and sharing a junior spoil at Koko Black.

Saturday night I made pizza, even the dough(!) and we had a movie night at home.  Talk about domestic goddess; well I try

Sunday the weather was not looking to good, but I dragged Mr. J out to the Lake and we took it fairly easy, but tried to maintain a good pace for 10km.  We were a little slow while checking out the new developments on the Kingston Foreshore – pretty crazy.  Although it
was a little chilly, and threatened to rain; the temp was better for a good pace, and it stayed clear.

Not overly speedy, but good amount for calories burned.

Monday was more relaxation, interspersed with washing and the threat of going back to reality (work) the next day.  Some cleaning and then Samba that night.

Farewell long weekend, see you again in June 

Recently I was introduced to a free health and fitness app – SlimKicker. The website and app uses people’s fitness and health related goals and turns them into a game with challenges, such as quitting chocolate for a week 

SlimKicker also has a lot of recipe ideas such as this chicken soup recipe.  It’s starting to get chilly, and soups are a great healthy lunch idea.

So, SlimKicker are on the hunt for new challenge ideas and in exchange for your ideas, you could win this slow cooker –

To be in the running:
• Sign up to SlimKicker – Check it out, it’s free
• Follow me on twitter and tweet about this competition – SecretLifeJen
• Leave a comment on this post with a great fitness or health challenge idea … for example – “doing 10 pushups every day for 1 week” or “doing squats between commercials” or “drinking a glass of water before every meal” – I could go on(!) But over to you, give me your ideas!

SlimKicker will choose their favourite challenge idea after one week, and use it on their site, so entries close next Sunday 14th April, 2013.   SlimKicker has offered this competition to US and Australian readers – so my Aussie readers, go for it!

The winner will be announced here on the blog and I will forward the winner’s details to SlimKicker to post the slow cooker – perfect timing for this winter-y weather 

Note: No remuneration was received for this post.

The weight is coming off super slowly, and so I am trying to divert my attention away from the numbers. I can easily become too concerned with the numbers, and then quickly disheartened when I don’t see big losses on the scale (like others do).

20cm lost is no small feat, and I should be happy with my results this far. Of course, everyone is different, and I need to remember that this is for me, and for my health. Slow, doesn’t mean that I won’t get there.

But the next question is, what does “there” actually mean? At this stage, I am not sure what my goal should be. And indeed, what my goal for next round should be (Yep, I will be signing up for Round 2, 2013!). I am in the healthy weight range (but it is a large range!), I exercise regularly, I am learning how to consistently eat well (minus a few hiccups), so what now?

Enter, the DEXA Scan. Apparently the dexa scan is the most accurate measure of body fat. It also gives information about bone density, abdominal fat, resting metabolic rate, ideal weight, and calorie intake.

I have booked into Measure Up as they are coming to Canberra at the end of April. I am excited(!) With the above results and recommendations there should be little guesswork about what I should be aiming for.

So this post is less of a review, more of a – What now? And hopefully this will be clearer to me at the end of the 12weeks. For now, or for the next month, I am going to focus on consistency with both nutrition and exercise, hopefully lose a little more weight, and just keep keeping on

After knocking over almost 12km around Campbell and Mt Ainslie, last weekend I was eager to push a bit further.  And looking to see somewhere new.  About a 15 minute drive out of Canberra, over the border, into NSW(!) we decided to do a longer hike/walk out at Googong.  After checking the web, the walks around the dam looked to easy (Ha!), and too short, so Mr. J and I decided to try the 14km, which was classified as a moderate difficulty.

Yep, I would say you could call it ‘moderate’ difficulty, if you are reasonably fit.  I am not sure what fitness level I would consider myself, but hey I finished it, it was tough at times, but the amazing thing >> I wasn’t that sore!  I was expecting major pain over the following couple of days.   But nope!

Some parts were beautiful, some parts were a serious slog – check out that elevation change in the middle!  I guess I am not really selling it really am I? 

But hey, if I managed to jog in the last km, I am pretty sure the moderately fit can handle it.

If not maybe the 4km around the dam might be more your style… I think that is next on our list, I think it would be really pretty.

Now, on to the numbers.  It is official.  For the first time doing 12WBT I reached and then surpassed the 1000 calorie burn!  So all it takes is 3hrs and 14km, and 1100 calories gone.  Ha!

Now the question is… what to do this long weekend?  I think another 10km is in my near future   Plus some home made hot cross buns… thanks for 12WBT recipe Mish!

Oh, and,

Happy Easter!  

And… keep a look out for a giveaway competition happening here on the blog very, very soon!

Anyway, I volunteered to drive, so I would taste less, and worry less about over-doing the calories.  It was a good idea in theory, but after my 10km the night before I was pretty sore!

We arrived in Mudgee at about 10:30am, and headed straight to the Farmer’s Market.  The market was definitely smaller than I expected, but nice because there is a rule about the produce being made within a certain distance of Mudgee.  We sampled some fudge, nuts, saffron Turkish Delight, jams, oil, vinegar.  Sounds like a lot, but just tiny bits here and there.  It was a great selection, with really friendly stallholders.  I walked away with some nuts, grapes, and Moroccan cooking paste.

After that we decided on breakfast on the main street somewhere.  So we wandered for a while, until we reached Arbuckles.  After my liquid shake breakfast before 7am I was famished, but went with something simple – poached eggs on toast.  It was a leisurely breakfast – nice to spend some time catching up

After that it was on to some wineries!  After taking a wrong turn and heading toward Gulgong, we turned around and the first stop was the High Valley Wine and Cheese Co.  I was not too impressed with the very expensive giftware, but the fetta – OMG haha!  The pesto is a must try.  I was tempted to purchase some, but was concerned about the drive home, then the drive back to Canberra the next day.  But apparently it is stocked in Canberra – in Manuka and Fyshwick, so I will have to check it out.

Next stop was a gallery, not all that impressed and it was getting pretty hot, so we went in search of something cooler.  Hello Elliot Rocke – and their “ice” wine.  Apparently they make the wine with frozen grapes, I am sure there is more to it, but yeah, awesome!  We sampled the white, sparkling and rose.  The sparkling was the perfect sweetness, whereas I found the others too sweet for me – but nice for some as a dessert wine.  I purchased the sparkling, and I can’t wait for the right occasion!

The other winery worth mentioning was Pieter Van Gent – the atmosphere was fantastic.  Such a lovely place.  I purchased a bottle of the Sundance.  Love it, and love the name.

Then, it was time to head home – What a fantastic weekend!

I drove to visit my family for mum Mum’s birthday on Thursday afternoon.  It was so lovely to get there a bit earlier, even though I was feeling under the weather.  I stopped off on the way to buy my an Ella Bache gift voucher to add to my mum’s gift(s)!

On Friday I started the day with a sleep in – I had planned to get up early to smash out an early SSS (Super Saturday Session), but decided that I needed the extra sleep and set my alarm (at midnight) for 7:30am   Mum and I spent some time chilling together and chatting before going to the movies.  We saw Goddess - yes, it is a tad cheesy at times, but overall a fun movie.  And nice to see some Aussie actors and landmarks… Hello Guillaume, how I missed you   The wedding seems so long ago already!

After the movies we did some shopping, and stopped for a coffee – it was such a lovely day!

Friday evening I decided I better knock over my SSS, otherwise I would find more excuses on Sunday.  So I hit the treadmill with the goal of beating my time the fortnight before in Sydney (10km in 90min).  So I decided to run for as long as I could, and “get it over with”.  So I ran for 4km, which is a long time for me, probably longest ever, in fact.  Then I switched between walking and running for the last 6km.  I think I got to 8km in the first hour, and the last 2km seemed to stretch on for ages.  At that point I really wanted to reach the 10km in under 75mins, but just managed it in 76minutes! Knocking a massive 14 minutes off my previous time!!

This of course has made me desperately want a treadmill at home.  I am less self-conscious in private, not worried about becoming a beetroot/tomato head (Ha!), or if I can make it home(!)  Something to talk to Mr. J about   I was a little naughty and didn’t stretch properly afterward, and I was pretty stiff for the next couple of days.  Plus there was some chafing and blisters too.  Time for some new shoes I think.

And then on Saturday morning I was up early for a mini-roadtrip to Mudgee!